Over 300 people are expected to attend the minority-focused Atlanta Health Summit and town hall meeting, "Good Health: Your Right, Your Choice," on Saturday, June 25. Health experts and others will gather to address health disparities and chronic diseases impacting many members of minority communities.

Health, corporate, and foundation leaders, along with community consumers, will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Emory Conference Center, 1615 Clifton Rd. in Atlanta. The summit is sponsored by the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural & Minority Medicine (IAMMM) in collaboration with Emory University School of Medicine and numerous co-sponsoring health and consumer organizations, including the Atlanta Medical Association. There is no registration fee for the event.

The Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, MD, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and President Emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker. Other remarks will be given by Beny Primm, MD, founder of the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation and president of the Urban Resource Institute.

The Health Summit will also feature an expert panel on chronic diseases, workshops, health screenings, on-site exhibits, and a town hall meeting during which a number of health experts will address specific topics posed by the audience.

"Emory University School of Medicine, along with Grady Memorial Hospital and the hospitals under the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, serve a large segment of the Atlanta metropolitan area," Dr. Lee says. "Our physicians and staff, especially at Grady Hospital, provide high quality care to those least able to afford healthcare. Greater than 90 percent of the patients at Grady are of African-American background, often accessing the healthcare system well after their diseases have advanced. One of the purposes of this summit is to encourage members of the community to be active participants in their health."

The Atlanta Health Summit marks the fifth installment of a national program focusing on health care in minority communities. The program is made possible through a grant from GlaxoSmithKline. Other Health Summits have been held in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Washington, DC.

Madeline Y. Lawson serves as Executive Vice President for IAMMM. "Part of the mission of IAMMM is to advocate for improving the status and quality of health for African Americans, other minorities, and the underserved," she says. "We believe through collaboration, we can make a major difference in providing access to quality health care for all Americans."